Returning Player, key things to know?

As someone that is picking the game back up after a few years, I am curious as to what are the important things to know about coming back into the game. When I left, Adoulin had just came out, took a break while waiting to see if the RMEs would be updated to keep up with the new equipment, and then circumstances changed where couldn't play for a few years. This was some time in 2013. Have seen a number of things that look new.

So trying to figure out the most important things to know about so that when the game finishes updating on my newer computer, can get back in the swing of things relatively quickly. Had a couple of 99 jobs, (Sch, Drg, and maybe Blu if I remember right) and was just working on getting them more appropriately geared up for 99 when Adoulin hit, if that helps any in advising on important things to do in a hurry. (would be on the Siren server as well)

Thanks for any help, and looking forward to adventuring in Vana'Diel yet once again.

Ambuscade is love, ambuscade is life. Learn to love and embrace the ambuscade.

So... that is it? Ambuscade? Nothing like what approximate ilvl gear to shoot for to not be a leech for it, no other things of import to do in order to prepare for it? Like are the Story NPC summons worthwhile to get, and if so which ones to prioritize, as when I last played they were either not around or still really limited in usage areas to not really be worth it at the time.

Big part of why trying to see what to do to get up to speed in a hurry is last time came back from a break in play was an odd spot of being expected to solo farm abysea gear, but yet not having the needed abysea gear to do so, and there was not a lot of help to go around.

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Originally Posted by Hawklaser

So... that is it? Ambuscade? Nothing like what approximate ilvl gear to shoot for to not be a leech for it, no other things of import to do in order to prepare for it? Like are the Story NPC summons worthwhile to get, and if so which ones to prioritize, as when I last played they were either not around or still really limited in usage areas to not really be worth it at the time.

Big part of why trying to see what to do to get up to speed in a hurry is last time came back from a break in play was an odd spot of being expected to solo farm abysea gear, but yet not having the needed abysea gear to do so, and there was not a lot of help to go around.

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Slightly similar situation now to the Aby example you gave, but you at least have the fall back of ilvl117 sparks gear to get you started. Don't expect to be doing any amazing solos right away though. ^^;;

Basically, the "only" ilvl once you are established is 119. There are a few rare exceptions, and they tend to be for very specific/niche uses. Though gearing priorities and specifics vary by job/role, generally melees want to max out their accuracy before worrying about other stats. Doesn't matter if you have 4000atk if you just whiff like a truck on anything that matters after all. :x Ambuscade NQ gear tends to be a solid starting point, and worth getting, but not the be-all-end-all that the other guy seems to make it sound like.

Trusts are always "worth" getting, especially since you tend to get them for beating mission lines, which always give a ton of perks in addition to the Trust ciphers. The vast majority of ciphers are from seasonal events though, so don't panic if you don't have a big stable to choose from at first.

Thanks, so best option after putzing around leveling some odd jobs for subjob use to familiarize with the game and snagging some trust summons, would be using sparks to get initial gear for over 99. No idea how far the 56k I have just from turn ins had ready will get me, as haven't looked too far into it currently.

So on Trusts, should go back and revisit notable NPCs from done missions, like guessing could get one from tavnazia due to having CoP done.

As long as its not as bad as aby with the needing to be over geared and with lots of atma to initially gear up solo should be fine. As kind of end up in a catch 22 if need super high gear to farm alright gear.

Following you profile which says that you are a drg lv 99, I will make the following recommendations.

Get eminent gear for your dragoon. (possibly cost about 50k sparks to get full set plus lance).
Shout in mhaura that you are new player/returning player looking to get 119 gear to restart, hopefully one of the players that solo ambuscade with 3 mules would give you a spot, or perhaps a group will carry you.

Get +1 sulevia's set and later flamma +1. Get as many abhsomething metals as possible with hallmarks and gallantry. Upgrade your sulevia pieces to +2 (i would start with body and feet and hands). Another thing I would suggest, is have all your missions done RoZ, CoP, etc and Rhapsodies of vanadiel (important for exp bonus), weapon skills (impulse drive, stardiver, impulse drive and drakesbane etc).

Get money to upgrade artifact helm, pants, and hands upgraded to 119 (or +1). Relic helm and feet to 119, and empyrean pants, feet and hands (need vagary clears for 119).

Good luck!

Another thing is to upgrade your merit points carrying capacity. This is a must to spam high tier battlefields.

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Originally Posted by Hawklaser

Thanks, so best option after putzing around leveling some odd jobs for subjob use to familiarize with the game and snagging some trust summons, would be using sparks to get initial gear for over 99. No idea how far the 56k I have just from turn ins had ready will get me, as haven't looked too far into it currently.

So on Trusts, should go back and revisit notable NPCs from done missions, like guessing could get one from tavnazia due to having CoP done.

As long as its not as bad as aby with the needing to be over geared and with lots of atma to initially gear up solo should be fine. As kind of end up in a catch 22 if need super high gear to farm alright gear.

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Just talk to a sparks npc and browse thru the lv99+ category. And yes, you get Ulmia for clearing CoP. She is great :3

Well, that Catch22 is there because there is very very little in this game that was actually designed to be solo'd. You need to be overgeared to compensate for the 5+ other players that you are lacking. XD

It's not quite as bad as what you are thinking though, since trusts perform around the level of an SoA geared 119 player (with a strict/limited understanding of their jobs.) It is sometimes simpler to solo+trusts than fullparty certain content even. Your trusts' levels are dependent on your ilvl, so you do kinda need both in order to play effectively.

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Originally Posted by Nyarlko

Well, that Catch22 is there because there is very very little in this game that was actually designed to be solo'd. You need to be overgeared to compensate for the 5+ other players that you are lacking. XD

It's not quite as bad as what you are thinking though, since trusts perform around the level of an SoA geared 119 player (with a strict/limited understanding of their jobs.) It is sometimes simpler to solo+trusts than fullparty certain content even. Your trusts' levels are dependent on your ilvl, so you do kinda need both in order to play effectively.

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Yeah, that was the one thing about this game that has always been love/hate for me, loved needing groups for things as made an awesome community, but the flip side was unless you were on something popular made it hard to progress at times ie CoP when it was still level capped.

What I saw of the trusts last night seems like a very nice addition. If they are approximately the strength of an an acceptablly geared character for the level, that would end most of the catch22. As a lot of it I ran into was more being unable to find the extra 1-2 people consistently to get that initial gear up going, as once got past the initial hurdle it was much easier. And I remember times when I would rather have had an empty slot than some players, like when had to tank on drg in a cape terrigen xp party because a pld/war had no clue how to tank.

So with the 117 spark gear, getting a decent variety of trusts, I should be able to do most things outside of whatever the current endgame is, right? Is it possible to do ambuscade solo with the 117 gear and trusts if needed for initial 119 gear? Or at least get gear to do so.

About the only other thing would be what are the current go to wiki's? As seems to be different each time have came back after longer breaks.

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Originally Posted by Hawklaser

Yeah, that was the one thing about this game that has always been love/hate for me, loved needing groups for things as made an awesome community, but the flip side was unless you were on something popular made it hard to progress at times ie CoP when it was still level capped.

What I saw of the trusts last night seems like a very nice addition. If they are approximately the strength of an an acceptablly geared character for the level, that would end most of the catch22. As a lot of it I ran into was more being unable to find the extra 1-2 people consistently to get that initial gear up going, as once got past the initial hurdle it was much easier. And I remember times when I would rather have had an empty slot than some players, like when had to tank on drg in a cape terrigen xp party because a pld/war had no clue how to tank.

So with the 117 spark gear, getting a decent variety of trusts, I should be able to do most things outside of whatever the current endgame is, right? Is it possible to do ambuscade solo with the 117 gear and trusts if needed for initial 119 gear? Or at least get gear to do so.

About the only other thing would be what are the current go to wiki's? As seems to be different each time have came back after longer breaks.

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While yes, you technically can, please don't solo Ambuscade regularly. :x You get a tiny fraction of the rewards you get by grouping, plus the bonus of pissing off everyone else in Mhaura simply for being a soloer... At least attempt to grab other players if you can, since group size directly impacts reward currency amounts. We're talking ~5x the rewards vs soloing (aka 1/5th of the time to reach same currency amounts,) plus there is an entire currency locked behind grouping that is impossible to get while solo. Basically, avoid soloing if at all possible, and be prepared for a grind if you can't avoid it. ^^;;

Oldwiki still works for some older stuff (tho the ads tend to drive my laptop CPUs berserk, Altana bless the makers of ABP lol), ffxiah is still around and has an active community, and bgwiki is probably the best general source we have at this point. Alla and atlas are still not-shutdown, and the content they covered is still 95% correct, tho neither has been updated in close to a decade.

Something important that I didn't see mentioned about Ambuscade. Your points reset every month at the version update. Be sure you spend them before then.

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Originally Posted by Nyarlko

While yes, you technically can, please don't solo Ambuscade regularly. :x You get a tiny fraction of the rewards you get by grouping, plus the bonus of pissing off everyone else in Mhaura simply for being a soloer... At least attempt to grab other players if you can, since group size directly impacts reward currency amounts. We're talking ~5x the rewards vs soloing (aka 1/5th of the time to reach same currency amounts,) plus there is an entire currency locked behind grouping that is impossible to get while solo. Basically, avoid soloing if at all possible, and be prepared for a grind if you can't avoid it. ^^;;

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While I don't plan on soloing ambuscade often, my view on it is likely gonna end up being "If others don't want to invite me to theirs, or join me when I go to do it, they get to deal with someone soloing it", as I have no intention of waiting for hours for a group at this stage of FFXIs life if one is not needed to do something, as I would much rather be playing the jobs I enjoy, instead of forced on to the current popular stuff as much as possible.

I checked the sparks gear, and actually had enough to get enough for all 3 of my old 99's (blu, drg and sch) so at least I'll have some variety to mess with on the higher stuff.

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Originally Posted by Hawklaser

While I don't plan on soloing ambuscade often, my view on it is likely gonna end up being "If others don't want to invite me to theirs, or join me when I go to do it, they get to deal with someone soloing it", as I have no intention of waiting for hours for a group at this stage of FFXIs life if one is not needed to do something, as I would much rather be playing the jobs I enjoy, instead of forced on to the current popular stuff as much as possible.

I checked the sparks gear, and actually had enough to get enough for all 3 of my old 99's (blu, drg and sch) so at least I'll have some variety to mess with on the higher stuff.

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Good attitude on the Ambuscade/grouping thing. /thumbsup